Legendary, the producer of the long-awaited film by Denis Villeneuve Dune remake, is reportedly threatening lawsuits if the film does not have an independent film release.
According Deadline, the company, which financed 75% of the film, was considered “caught off guard” by the change in the film’s distributor, Warner Bros, to redirect its list of 2021 films to a “hybrid” release – meaning they will hit theaters and the same day HBO Max streaming service.
The report also states that talent representatives are “fighting with Warner Bros. for back-end compensation” that they say would have been won if the company had not opted for previous streaming releases.
Dune was initially scheduled for global launch on December 18. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, it will now be released on October 1, 2021.
The decision has already been publicly criticized by Christopher Nolan, Judd Apatow, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins and Villeneuve.
In a fiery trial for Variety published on December 10, the Dune the director said there was “absolutely no love for cinema, nor for the public” in Warner Bros. decision.
“It’s all about the survival of a telecommunications mammoth, which is currently bearing an astronomical debt of more than $ 150 billion,” wrote Villeneuve.
“So while ‘Dune’ is about cinema and audiences, AT&T is about its own survival on Wall Street. With the launch of HBO Max a failure so far, AT&T decided to sacrifice Warner Bros. ‘the entire 2021 list in a desperate attempt to get the public’s attention. “
Nolan also criticized the movement, saying The Hollywood Reporter: “Some of the biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars in our industry went to bed the night before thinking they were working for a big movie studio and woke up to find they were working for the worst streaming service.”